Bates back in AAA waiting second shot, honors father

Ask even the most casual baseball fan what the letters “MLB” stand for and the fan will reply “Major League Baseball.”

In the case of Pawtucket Red Sox first baseman Aaron Bates, they stand for the initials of his father – Mark Lloyd Bates – who passed away in 2004.

Mark Bates was a father who had a positive effect on his son’s career — a career that this season has seen him jump three levels, from Portland to Pawtucket to Boston before he was returned to the PawSox on July 17.

Sox interested in Atkins; should Sox go to 11 pitchers?

Rumors abound that the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies have discussed a deal around reliever Takashi Saito for third-baseman Garrett Atkins, making roughly $7 million this year.

The benefit to Atkins is that he would give the Sox a legitimate power bat off the bench, something the team lacks. Atkins would play first and third base off the bench, providing invaluable depth should Mike Lowell’s return prove unsuccessful.

Which brings us to a more important question: are the Sox better served with an extra bench bat or an extra pitcher?

Bates promotion tells a lot about Sox’s concern for O

With the recent callup of first baseman Aaron Bates to the club, it’s clear that the Sox are concerned about their offensive viability.

With the All-Star break around the corner, the club could have opted to keep Jeff Bailey on the roster despite his high-ankle strain and go a couple days against a left-handed starter with Julio Lugo at short or Mark Kotsay at first (despite the latter’s left-handed bat).

Instead, the club chose to promote a 25-year old struggling in Triple-A. Bates’ numbers so far on the year are .182/.273/.295 with only 24 games at the level. And yet, the Sox brought him up to get his right-handed bat in the lineup against lefty pitchers.

Anderson, Bates power Sea Dogs to win

In retrospect, Portland’s 6-4 victory over the Connecticut Defenders was a microcosm of the season for Aaron Bates and to an extent for Lars Anderson.

Bates cracked three singles in five at-bats and drove in two runs while Anderson was 2-for-5 (single, double) with an RBI.

And manager Arnie Beyeler continued his “mix-and-match” routine Sunday with T.J. Large and Bryce Cox who combined to make a winner out of starter Jarod Plummer (4-1).

SOX ON DECK: Sea Dogs lick wounds after losing five of six to Defenders

Fortunately for Portland, Monday is an off day.
The Sea Dogs can use the time to lick their wounds after dropping five of six games to the Connecticut Defenders.
Perhaps Sunday
document.getElementById(”post-3229-blankimage”).onload();

SOX ON DECK: Sea Dogs nip Defenders behind Bates homer

Portland
document.getElementById(”post-3218-blankimage”).onload();

Sox Draft Forecast Looking Cloudy

The 2007 MLB First Year Player Draft will go down in history as a banner year for the event. For the first time since its inception, the draft will [...]

Bard ready to get back

I promised a Daniel Bard update, and I’m delivering.
If you don’t know who Bard is, check out the Fire Brand interview with him I did last September. Bard reported to [...]

Minor Storylines

We
document.getElementById(”post-1547-blankimage”).onload();